Greene expresses concerns over Malloy’s address

HARTFORD — State Rep. Len Greene (R-105) spoke on his impressions of Gov. Dannel Malloy’s address to the legislature on the opening day of the session..

The “short session,” which began Wednesday and runs from through the first week in May, will center on adjusting the state budget and reforming the education system in Connecticut.

At the start of the session, Gov. Dannel Malloy addressed both the House and Senate to propose a budget adjustment, which would provide additional spending to lower performing schools.

A release issued by Greene’s office argued Malloy attempted to convince the legislature that the state is heading toward a more stable economic condition despite contradicting reports from the state’s non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis and the recent downgrade of the state’s credit rating from Moody’s Investment Services.

“While the Governor’s speech today sounded promising, the reality is that the state budget remains in an extremely precarious position” said Greene in a news release. “All of the revenue projections that have been released within the past few weeks show that our state is heading towards another deficit despite the $1.8 billion tax increase imposed last year, and now, the Governor is proposing to spend an additional $329 million. The Governor in his speech claimed that his administration has instituted ‘fiscal discipline,’ yet I don’t see how increasing spending in this budget cycle constitutes ‘discipline.’”

Greene also noted that while spending an additional $50 million on low performing schools might benefit those schools, he’s worried that the money will go to waste without adopting additional reforms to the education system.

“I certainly look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on reviving our education system,” said Greene in a news release. “But we cannot simply throw money at the problem and expect it to improve. We need to ensure that our teachers have the tools they need to succeed and that each school district can effectively hire the best and the brightest teachers available for our kids.”